Igbo Group Condemns Posting Of Christian Graduates To North

IGBO Social-cultural group, Oganiru Ndigbo Foundation, otherwise known as the “Igboville” yesterday condemned the posting of Christian graduates from the South East to the North by the National Youths Service Corps, NYSC, saying the authorities are insensitive to the plight of the people.

The Igbo group called on graduates of Igbo origin posted to the North to boycott the service and forward their posting details to the organisation through its email; igbo.ville@yahoo.com.

Speaking with newsmen, the leader of the group, Emeka Maduewesi, accompanied by Victor Aguku, Senior Executive, Corporate Development and Legal Officer and Dr Gaius Ndukwe Onu, Secretary General of the group, argued that it was heartless for the authorities of the NYSC to mobilize youths and other Southern Christians for their primary assignments in the conflict areas of the North.

According to Maduewesi, “we will hold the President and NYSC DG responsible for any of them that loses his/her life to Boko Haram and religious extremists. The government must immediately re-deploy them to safer areas of the country or suspend the NYSC scheme”.

We are still mourning 11 corpers killed in April (2011) as a result of the post election crisis in Northern Nigeria as well as others that have lost their lives to the current upheaval in Yobe, Kaduna, Kano, Jos, Maiduguri, Gombe and other Northern states”.

The group reminded the government and the NYSC that it was barely a year since they lost many youth corps members from Southern Nigeria to the senseless carnage in most parts of northern Nigeria.

“Thus we ask, how many more lives of our children must we sacrifice for the oneness of Nigeria? Sending more of our youths into the same dungeon is not only callous but highly insensitive to the esteemed value we place on our children many of whom had already been sacrificed to the Nigerian debacle. We hereby put the Federal Government and NYSC on notice that we will not hesitate to use every resource available to us to bring them to account if any Igbo graduate is harmed in the North.

Igbo graduate who boycotts his posting to the north must be issued exemption letter by the NYSC on or before 10th of July 2012. We will view the President’s silence in this matter as an act of hostility against Ndigbo. We are by a copy of this letter to relevant international agencies putting them on notice about this new dimension of Igbo cleansing in Nigeria”, the group stated.

Culled from VANGUARD